


Day 5: The Cabin

by VampireVengence



Series: 12 Days Of Christmas Oneshots [5]
Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas proposal, Engagement, Established Relationship, Feels, Fluff, Jack Is A Good Boyfriend, Jalex - Freeform, M/M, Marriage Proposal, One Shot, christmas cracker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22895233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireVengence/pseuds/VampireVengence
Summary: Jack and Alex spend Christmas at the cabin they used to visit as kids.
Relationships: Jack Barakat/Alex Gaskarth
Series: 12 Days Of Christmas Oneshots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1502447
Kudos: 6





	Day 5: The Cabin

Jack smiled softly as Alex gently placed a hand on his knee whilst he drove. It was just starting to get dark now but they didn't have much further to go. 

It was Christmas Eve and they were driving up to Jack's dad's cabin where they'd be staying until New Year. They'd spent so many summers up there as kids and now it seemed like the perfect escape from the madness of their everyday lives. 

The band seemed to be getting more and more popular all the time and Jack loved every second of it, but it did tend to get in the way of their relationship at times. They'd been on the road all year and quite frankly they'd earnt the downtime. Jack was looking forward to a nice relaxing week.

He and Alex had been dating for exactly two years, six months, eight days, five hours and twenty-three minutes. And it had been the happiest time of Jack's life. He loved the guy, it was that simple. He couldn't imagine anything better than spending the rest of his life with him. 

"Jack are you sure you're going the right way?" Alex asked, frowning slightly as he looked out at the trees all around them.  
"Relax Lex, I know where we are." He'd never had much faith in Jack's sense of direction or his general ability to get himself anywhere without getting lost, but Jack knew these roads like the back of his hand. He'd been coming up here for so long now it was almost like coming home. 

The cabin itself was hidden deep among the trees. All wooden and rustic looking, though thankfully it had all the modern amenities. There was only one road you could use to reach it and the turning was almost impossible to find. If you didn't know it was there you wouldn't even see it and even if you did, unless you knew the roads well you'd be driving around for hours lost. It was private and secluded and perfect for what Jack had planned.

He could feel Alex's eyes on him and glanced over only for him to look away blushing. It was quite frankly adorable. 

Jack knew he had that look on his face, the sickly sweet adoration that Rian had repeatedly told him made him want to throw up. Jack couldn't help it though, he was in love and he wasn't about to hide that. Besides, Alex was beautiful and there was a large part of Jack that wanted to memorise every little inch of him. He could stare for hours and not get bored. That would probably be considered creepy though.

They reached the turning and as the car's tires hit the dirt track it was like they'd entered their own little bubble of calm. There were tree's on all sides and it was like they were in their own little haven, far away from the rest of the world. It was just the two of them, together. Nothing else mattered.

"I hope it snows." Alex mused as he looked around. The moonlight filtered through the bare trees giving him a silvery glow. It just made him look even more stunning. 

"Maybe we'll get snowed in." Jack agreed, making Alex chuckle.   
"Now wouldn't that be just terrible." He said sarcastically and Jack grinned, snuggling up under blankets with Alex and watching the snow fall sounded like his idea of heaven. 

"Don't let me forget to call my mom tomorrow. She's pissed off enough I'm not gonna be home for Christmas without me forgetting to call her as well." Jack chuckled softly.   
"Yeah, the last thing we need is to give her another reason to hate me." Alex rolled his eyes but smiled.  
"She doesn't hate you."   
"No, she just hates me as your boyfriend." Jack amended. She'd been fine with Jack as a friend, but since they'd announced their relationship she'd been really... off. "She's worried I'm going to get hurt. You've got a bit of a reputation." Jack rolled his eyes.  
"It's been two and a half years." He pointed out.  
"I know, but she thinks I'm wasting my time trying to change you into the model boyfriend when all you want is a casual fuck. She also worries how it'll affect the band." That Jack understood, it was something he'd been concerned about too when they'd first started dating. The rest stung a little though.

"You know you're not right?" Jack asked after a moments silence, irrational worry seeping in. Alex rolled his eyes.  
"No, I just have nothing better to do with my time than try and change you." He said sarcastically. "Not like I've got hundreds of girls throwing themselves at me on a regular basis." Jack shook his head but smiled all the same. He was so damn lucky. 

They reached the cabin and Alex was quick to jump out, heading to the trunk to get their bags. Jack grinned, cutting the engine and joining him at the back of the car. 

He covered his eyes with his hands, grinning as Alex gasped. "Jack! What are you doing?" Jack just grinned, slowly guiding him towards the cabin. "We need our stuff." Alex pointed out, laughing.   
"We'll bring it in in a minute. I wanna show you something first."

As a surprise for their arrival, Jack had headed up to the cabin a few days prior and had decorated the place from top to bottom with Christmas decorations. The place looked like a winter wonderland and he knew Alex would love it. He'd always been a big kid when it came to Christmas.

He adjusted himself so he could unlock the door whilst still obscuring Alex's view. "Jack!" Alex laughed, pulling at his hand. "What's going on?" Jack carefully guided him over the threshold before turning on the lights and releasing his eyes.

Alex's jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he took it all in. Glancing around in shock and amazement. "You did all this?" He whispered as he turned to Jack in awe. Jack just shrugged. "I wanted this to be perfect for you Lex." He broke out in a huge grin as he grabbed at the back of Jack's neck and pulled him into a heady kiss. "You really shouldn't have." He was grinning like an idiot and Jack couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Despite how well he knew his boyfriend, part of him had still been worried he wouldn't like it. "I'll go get the bags, you get comfortable." 

When Jack came back in he found Alex digging around under the tree. "Where did all these presents come from?" He asked, amazement clear in his voice. Jack just shrugged as he took the bags through to the bedroom. "Zack, Rian, May, Helen, my parents, your parents and I think there's a card from my gran under there somewhere." Alex looked at him in surprise as he came back in.   
"You managed to convince my mum to give you her gifts?" Jack just shrugged again.   
"Once I got your dad on side it was pretty hard for her to argue." Alex narrowed his eyes.  
"What do you mean 'on side'?" Jack blushed a little, he'd said too much.  
"He thought the time away would be good for us." 

"You spent all this time decorating but did you remember to get any food?" It wasn't like they could order takeout.   
"Yes. We're fully stocked up, don't worry." Alex just gave him a look before heading into the kitchen. Jack followed, pausing in the doorway to see his reaction.

The cupboards were fully stocked and the refrigerator was filled with different tupperware boxes filled with Christmas goodies ready for the next day. Alex's jaw dropped as he turned to Jack in shock and mild alarm. "Did you cook all this?" Jack chuckled, his cooking skills were minimal at best and everyone knew it. "I wish I could take the credit but Mom did most of it. Don't worry I've been given a list of very detailed instructions on how to re-heat everything so no one gets sick." Alex didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe Jack had gone to so much trouble.  
"You know I was kind of just expecting Spaghetti-Os on toast or something." Jack laughed, once again glad to be exceeding expectations. 

He re-heated a casserole whilst Alex went and unpacked. Everything was going to plan so far which gave Jack a more positive feeling for the day to come. It was gonna be fine, everything would be great.

When Alex returned he had changed into pyjama pants and one of Jack's sweaters. "You don't mind do you?" He asked when he noticed Jack looking. Jack shook his head, still smiling fondly. "Not at all, you look cute." Alex blushed and smiled as he sat down at the kitchen table. He pressed a kiss to his cheek as he placed a plate down in front of him before pouring them both a glass of wine.

The long day of driving had tired them both out so they ended up going to bed early. They put a movie on the laptop but Alex ended up sleeping through most of it. He was too damn cute some times. 

Jack was woken up around lunchtime the next day by Alex pressing kisses all over his face. "Lex!" He laughed, pushing the dork back with a smile. "Merry Christmas Jacky!" He beamed down at him, pressing a passionate kiss to his lips. "I love you." He told him, eyes sparkling with joy.  
"I love you too." Jack smiled. He'd never meant anything more in his life.  
"Come on!" Alex grinned, leaning up on his knees and bouncing slightly. "Let's go open presents."

They fished them all out from under the tree and organised them into two piles depending on who they were for. They both ended up with the traditional knitted jumper from Jack's mom and a variety of other things, some useful, some not so much. Jack had gotten Alex some personalised guitar picks, every rock star should have them after all. Alex had gotten him a t-shirt that read 'guitarists finger faster' in bright white font. He couldn't stop laughing. 

He stiffened when he noticed the bright white binder sat in Alex's lap as he sat reading a sticky note with furrowed eyebrows. _Oh god no._ "My parents are so weird." He concluded, shaking his head and dropping the binder onto the floor by his feet with the rest of his presents without closer inspection. Jack let out a breath. "What's that?" He asked, playing it cool.  
"A binder. The note says 'so you don't forget anything important. We love you.' What is that even supposed to mean?" Jack shrugged, slightly on edge. 

"Right." Alex said, getting to his feet. "I'm gonna go get dressed then I'll start on dinner."  
"I can do that." Alex shook his head.   
"No way. I've read your mom's instructions and there is no way I'm letting you do all that. I don't wanna spend Boxing Day in bed with food poisoning." Jack rolled his eyes but didn't argue. 

Jack smiled softly as he came out from his shower and could hear Alex singing softly. He quickly dressed and padded out into the kitchen and paused in the doorway, watching as he danced around and sung along to Panic! At The Disco's rendition of White Christmas. He jumped slightly when he noticed Jack standing there. "Creep." He muttered but they both smiled.

"Have you called your mom?"  
"Shit. No, I haven't." He headed towards the living room where the landline was with a sigh. "If the alarm goes off then you need to take the stuffing out." He called over his shoulder.

When he returned, dinner was almost ready. Jack was not quite as hopeless as everyone seemed to think. "You okay?" He asked noticing Alex frown. "Something's going on. Mom was really weird about the binder." Jack raised an eyebrow.  
"Weird how?"  
"Like... really secretive. She wouldn't explain the note and just kept saying I'd understand soon enough." Jack decided to steer the conversation into safer water. "I wouldn't worry about it. Dinner's nearly ready anyway." Alex nodded, letting it go for the time being as he helped Jack set the table. 

The food was good, even if it was all re-heated. "Your mom is a kitchen goddess." Alex enthused, his mouth full and a near orgasmic expression on his face. "She is." Jack was amazed he'd managed not to be fat as a child. All she'd ever done was bake.

"You're mom's pumpkin pie's in the fridge, I'm not sure if it needs heating or not." Alex's hand paused midway to his mouth as he gave Jack a disbelieving look. "You managed to convince my mother to give you a pumpkin pie? What did you do, promise her our firstborn?" Jack laughed and shook his head. "It was your dad's idea. He practically had to pry it from her fingers when I went to pick it up." Alex shook his head with a smile. "That sounds more like it."

Once they were finished they put the leftovers back in the fridge and loaded the dishwasher before heading into the living room and collapsing onto the couch. "I'm so full." Alex groaned, gently patting his stomach. Jack smiled fondly before sitting up and picking up the Christmas cracker he'd left on the table earlier, just for this moment. 

He offered one end to Alex who laughed. "Wow. How British of you." Jack just grinned, shrugging to hide his nerves.  
"Humour me." With a roll of his eyes, Alex sat up. He took a firm grip on the other end and pulled. There was a small bang and just as Jack had planned, Alex ended up with the larger half.

He poured the crackers content out into his lap, putting on the crappy paper hat before picking up the slip of paper. He sat staring at it for a long moment, eyebrows drawn together with confusion. "Jack, where did you get these?" He finally asked. "The joke doesn't make any sense." Jack did his best to appear calm as he asked. "What does it say?"   
"All it says is 'marry me?'." Jack just sat there and waited for the words to sink in. He felt sick.

All of a sudden Alex's eyes widened and he dropped the paper altogether. He picked up the small plastic box that had accompanied it with shaking hands, one of which came up to cover his mouth when he revealed the ring. It was a thin silver band with a trio of diamonds sat in a row, a swirling pattern etched either side. He'd noticed Alex looking at it when they'd walked past a small jewellery store in London whilst on the UK leg of their latest tour. He made sure to go back and pick it up before they left. 

There was a long silence as Alex glanced between Jack and the ring in total disbelief. "You mean?" He finally whispered, looking to Jack with unreadable eyes. Jack could only nod, unable to form words. He was so nervous he thought his heart might beat out of his chest. 

Alex let out a small squeal and launched himself at Jack, straddling his lap. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! _Yes!_ " He cried, punctuating each 'yes' with a kiss. Jack chuckled softly, grinning brightly as the excitement washed over him. _Holy shit! He said yes!_

He picked the ring box up off the couch and took out the ring, slipping it onto Alex's awaiting finger. He was grinning like an idiot and his eyes were shining brightly. He pulled Jack into another passionate kiss. 

"So this is what you promised my mom in exchange for pumpkin pie." He joked. Jack chuckled softly.  
"No, it's just what convinced your dad to make her play nice." Alex shook his head, unable to stop smiling.   
"You seriously asked him for permission?" Jack nodded.   
"I wanted to do this right. Show them I was serious I guess. I mean I'd have asked you even if he'd said no but." He shrugged and Alex blushed.

A sudden realisation dawned on his face and he got to his feet, going over to the binder and picking it up. He sat down next to Jack and removed the clear plastic wrap. He opened it up and gasped a little. It was full of wedding stuff: checklists, schedules, ideas for themes, to-do lists. It was basically the ultimate wedding planning guide.

Alex gave a near-hysterical laugh as he shook his head. "No wonder she was being so weird on the phone." Jack pressed a kiss to Alex's temple.  
"I shit myself when I saw that." Jack admitted. "I thought you were gonna open it to see what they were talking about and it'd ruin the surprise." Alex chuckled softly, turning to face him. "That probably would have ruined your cracker plan a little bit."

Jack leant in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "You wanna call them and tell them the good news?" He asked as he pulled back. Alex shook his head, licking his lips. "No." He smirked. "I wanna celebrate by having super hot couch sex." Jack grinned as Alex shifted so he was back to straddling Jack's lap. "Oh, I think we can manage that."


End file.
